You Should Have Told Me You Don't Like Sweet Girls - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

“What do you want to tell me, Senior?” Su Yu didn’t hide her reluctance and anticipation. “Can’t you just say it like this?”

Shi Xueqian didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point. “I like sweet girls.”

The way Su Yu was acting right now, both in her looks and her personality, she liked her too much. If Su Yu continued to do whatever she wanted, Shi Xueqian would most likely fall completely for her. How long could a crush last? Maybe it wouldn’t even last long enough for her to fully fall for Su Yu before Su Yu’s feelings cooled down. What could she do then? It would only bring her more pain. While she still had the chance, it was best to stop it at its root.

“You should remember our first meeting. I’ve also heard many rumors about you. I’ve known what kind of person you are for a long time.”

“So I also know that you were pretending to be a sweet girl before.”

“Why force yourself to accept a style you don’t like for someone who doesn’t like you? So, don’t like me anymore. It’s impossible for me to like you.”

The air was dead silent. Only the occasional cheerful laughter from outside created an eerie contrast to the atmosphere in the props room.

Su Yu stared at her for a long time before speaking. “Actually, the way I was when we first met, and the way I am now, are both faked.”

The people who beat her up were actually Jiang Nianyi’s trashy ex-boyfriends, and her painstakingly pretending to be so fierce and domineering now was all to avoid being hounded and surrounded. In short, it was a sad story. “Senior, when I was in front of you, I dared to be myself and act like a sweet girl every day because I had a strange intuition that I wouldn’t be mobbed if you were by my side. And as I expected, after getting close to you, you really became my safe zone.”

“The reason I’ve been like this again for the past few days is because I didn’t pass your test and couldn’t be with you. They’ve been hounding me every day, saying they want to be my friend and stuff, but I know their true intentions. They just know my family’s background and want to get on the Su family’s good side. Senior, I’ve been so miserable every day.”

She looked incredibly pathetic and miserable. Then she suddenly thought of something, and her sad face brightened. “I’m so happy to hear that you like sweet girls!”

“Senior likes sweet girls, and I am a sweet girl at my core. We’re clearly a match made in heaven~” Su Yu’s demeanor switched instantly, fully demonstrating her skill as the top student in the acting department. She untied Shi Xueqian’s hands, linked arms with her, and tilted her head to look at her. “Don’t you think so, Senior?”

Shi Xueqian stared at her for a moment, neither admitting nor denying it. “Maybe. But I still don’t like you right now. Although I like the sweet girl image, it doesn’t mean I don’t have other requirements.”

Su Yu: “Then tell me what kind of person you like. Maybe I meet all the requirements?”

Shi Xueqian raised her hand and lifted Su Yu’s chin. “That won’t work. If you deliberately pretend to be that way, what will happen if you change after we get together?”

“Besides, rules are dead, but people are alive. Junior, you should have confidence in that face of yours. You just be yourself, and maybe one day, all my rules will be broken for you.”

The Shi Xueqian of today could never have imagined that this very excuse, which she used to trick Su Yu, would one day, like that childhood bullet, strike her right between the eyebrows. But that was a story for later.

Su Yu nodded. “I will definitely make you fall in love with all my different sides, Senior!” She was full of confidence.

Knock knock—

The door was knocked on, and the president’s voice came from outside. “Qianqian? Yu? Have you guys sorted things out? Everyone’s here for the club meeting. We’re about to start.”

The two of them walked out of the props room. Although everyone’s expressions weren’t very obvious, they were full of meaning. Their gazes were mainly focused on Su Yu. The reason was simple: Su Yu seemed to have completely changed from the person who had walked in, not in appearance, but in her demeanor. She had been switched to sweet girl mode again…

Having grown up together since childhood, Jiang Nianyi knew what her friend was thinking with just a single glance. Although she didn’t know what had happened in the props room, it was clear that Su Yu had been “trained” to be a sweet girl again.

Trained… Jiang Nianyi savored the word that had inexplicably popped into her head. It fit perfectly. For Senior Shi, “training” her romantically-minded friend was as easy as lifting a finger. She let out a silent sigh.

“Su Yu, what are you doing here?” A sweet voice cut through the vague atmosphere and went straight into Shi Xueqian’s ears.

It was Xu Yan’s voice. The last time they had met on campus, Shi Xueqian’s body had an instinctive reaction of fear because it had been a long time since they had seen each other. But now, after the previous struggles, her body’s memory had once again become numb. She only gave her a faint glance.

Ever since their first perfect collaboration, Su Yu and Xu Yan would always choose each other as partners in classes where they could choose freely. One reason was that Su Yu felt they were evenly matched, and their scenes together were more fun to act out. The other reason was that she felt more comfortable with Xu Yan. She really wasn’t like other people who would just blindly pander to her. So their relationship had slowly gotten better.

Xu Yan walked in front of her and stood still. “Did we even choose the same club? Wow, it seems we’re not only a good match for acting but also very destined to meet.”

Su Yu didn’t immediately chat with her. Instead, she introduced Shi Xueqian, who was standing next to her. “This is Shi Xueqian, a third-year senior from the School of Foreign Languages. She’s also a long-time member of our club.”

The president wanted to tease her. Shouldn’t I be the one to introduce her? But she glanced at Su Yu, closed her mouth, and said nothing.

Xu Yan flashed a sweet smile at Shi Xueqian and proactively extended her hand. “Hello, Senior Shi. I’m Xu Yan, a first-year student from the acting department.”

Shi Xueqian never thought this day would come. At every stage of her schooling, Shi Xueqian had been warned by the Xu family not to say that she was one of their children. She had been warned by Xu Yan not to say that she was her sister, or she would tear her mouth apart. Even if they met, they had to pretend not to know each other. What was ironic about this was that every time, the person who tore the veil off their relationship was Xu Yan.

Shi Xueqian hadn’t taken it seriously this time, because she felt that even if they went to the same university, the probability of meeting was not high. The school campus was simply too big, and besides, Xu Yan would never study the same major as her. But now, not only had they met, but they were also in the same club.

This was good, though. She wouldn’t have to go through a hundred twists and turns to subtly hint to Xu Yan with carefully prepared evidence. She could let Xu Yan see with her own eyes how Su Yu was clinging to her. Maybe her plan would proceed faster than expected.

She extended her hand and gave her a light shake. “Hello.”

She wanted to let go, but the person on the other side didn’t. Instead, Xu Yan leaned in, stared at her lips, and said with a sweet smile, “Senior, the color of your lips is so beautiful. What shade of lipstick are you wearing?”

“I’m not wearing lipstick,” Shi Xueqian said calmly. “I might have a little bit of heatiness.”

“I see. You should take care of yourself, Senior.” Xu Yan said with a feigned concern before finally letting go. Shi Xueqian knew this wasn’t concern; it was a warning.

The president clapped her hands, gathering everyone to sit together.

Su Yu walked close to Shi Xueqian, with Xu Yan walking behind her. The three of them sat on the same sofa, with Su Yu in the middle.

The themes of this club meeting were to introduce the new members and to select a performance for the school’s freshman welcoming party on the 9th of next month. Since time was tight and the task was urgent, they had to decide on the play and the actors today.

The new members took turns introducing themselves. Some of them showed off and performed a little act, making everyone laugh. When it was Su Yu’s turn, she simply introduced her name and department and nothing else. She didn’t act as conceited as some students had imagined, boasting or showing off her superiority. She was unexpectedly “approachable.”

The president brought out three scripts for selection and passed them out. “We don’t have enough printed scripts, so if you’re sitting close, share one with a neighbor. Please all read them carefully, and then we’ll vote. The one with the most votes will be our play.”

Xu Yan took a script and handed it to Su Yu. The latter, however, turned her head directly toward Shi Xueqian. Noticing the script in her hand, Su Yu turned back and smiled. “Xu Yan, why don’t you read with the person next to you? I’ll read with Senior.” Without waiting for a response, she turned back to Shi Xueqian.

In class, when a script was handed out, the two of them would naturally find each other to discuss it. Sometimes she would initiate, sometimes Su Yu would. She thought they had a little understanding between them, but now…

Xu Yan stared at Shi Xueqian. She was very aware that Shi Xueqian couldn’t miss her stare, and that even if she didn’t look at her, she would understand her intention. But there was no reaction. Shi Xueqian not only completely ignored her gaze but was also “intimately” interacting with Su Yu.

Shi Xueqian handed the script to Su Yu, who pushed it back. Su Yu put one arm around Shi Xueqian’s back and leaned her body and head closer, almost entirely wrapping Shi Xueqian in her arm. They looked like a close couple.

“I can read it just like this, Senior. The other position would make you uncomfortable.”

Shi Xueqian: “It’s fine. This position will make you uncomfortable too.” She said, pushing the script back toward Su Yu.

Su Yu stopped her and lowered her voice near her ear. “Be a good girl, Senior. Listen to me.” The warm breath tickled Shi Xueqian’s ear. She instinctively pulled away, only to be pulled back by Su Yu, who held her shoulders. “If you hide again, Senior, I won’t be able to see.” She looked very innocent. She didn’t let go of her hands, and their position didn’t change.

Shi Xueqian glanced at her and said nothing. The two of them began reading the script in earnest.

Xu Yan sat beside them, secretly gritting her teeth. Good, very good.

After the reading session, a two-female lead script titled Deathly Love was voted the winner with a high majority. Everyone’s reason was the same: it was a deeply touching story with both laughter and tears.

The president: “Then our play will be Deathly Love. Now, let’s cast the leads. When I say a character’s name, if you’re interested, just raise your hand. If there are many people, we’ll have everyone audition a scene, and then we’ll vote.”

“Who wants to play Female Lead 1, Han Ye?”

Only Su Yu raised her hand.

The president: “What about the rest of you? Don’t you want to act?”

A second-year member who had been in the club for a while said, “It’s good to give a newcomer a chance. It’s great.”

Someone else agreed, “Yeah, and I think this role is very suitable for Su Yu.”

The president carefully observed their expressions and confirmed they were sincere, so she said nothing more.

“Female Lead 2, Lu Shichen.”

This time, only Xu Yan raised her hand.

Seeing the president nod, Su Yu gave a meaningful look to Jiang Nianyi, who was sitting on the outer edge.

Jiang Nianyi glanced at her and resignedly said, “As an observer, I shouldn’t be speaking, but I’ve read the script, and I think the role of Lu Shichen is perfect for Senior Shi. It’s almost as if it were tailor-made for her. Senior, do you have any interest in acting? I’d really love to see you in this role.”

Su Yu secretly gave her a thumbs-up. No one noticed except Xu Yan, who was constantly watching Su Yu.

Nearly three-quarters of the club members nodded in agreement. The remaining one-quarter were Xu Yan’s fans.

One of the main creators of the script, from the Creative Writing department, raised their hand and said a little sheepishly, “Jiang is right. We actually used Senior Shi as the prototype when we were creating this character.”

Su Yu had guessed as much. Lu Shichen’s way of speaking and her demeanor in the script were too similar to Shi Xueqian. Shi Xueqian herself didn’t feel much about it. She actually wanted to play the role of Lu Shichen’s younger sister, a character who turns into a villain because of love. The sister’s actions later in the play were much the same as Xu Yan’s actions toward her. This character was relatively one-dimensional and certainly couldn’t be compared to the real Xu Yan, but before she left, she wanted to experience Xu Yan’s life, even just a little piece of it.

But then again, experiencing the life of a fake Xu Yan was far less tempting than being able to completely escape the Xu family sooner.

The president: “Qianqian, what do you think?” She acted like she was thinking. “If I remember correctly, you’ve acted in quite a few plays since you joined the club, but you’ve never played a lead role? They’ve all been small supporting roles?”

This was true. Xu Zhicheng didn’t allow her to spend too much time on meaningless things. It was a great favor for him to even let her join a club.

“Qianqian, do you want to consider it?” The president said expectantly. “If you want to act, you and Xu Yan can each audition a scene, and it will be a fair competition.”

Xu Yan’s gaze slowly drifted over. On the surface, it looked normal, but only Shi Xueqian knew that her gaze was as solid as an entity. Xu Yan was warning her not to agree.

Shi Xueqian nodded. “I’ll try.”

The president happily snapped her fingers. “That’s more like it! Qianqian, we’re both in our third year. This is probably the last performance I’ll organize. Having you as the female lead would fulfill one of my wishes.” When she was a club officer, she had recommended Shi Xueqian for the lead role several times, but she had always been rejected.

She quickly flipped through the script. “Let’s make the audition scene Act 63, the scene where the older sister confronts the younger sister after finding out the truth. It’s the older sister’s big emotional outburst.”

All the members clapped their hands in agreement. They had known Shi Xueqian for so long but had never seen any emotions from her other than her calm and cold demeanor.

The president asked, “Qianqian, any problems?”

Shi Xueqian: “No problem.”

She then asked, “Xu Yan, any problems?”

Xu Yan smiled. “No.”

She’s angry. Even without looking at Xu Yan, Shi Xueqian knew from the subtle difference in her voice that Xu Yan was angry. In the past, whenever Xu Yan’s tone changed slightly, Shi Xueqian would be terrified because the young miss Xu would take her anger out on her for fun whenever she was unhappy. Kicking her was a light punishment. But now, seeing Xu Yan angry, she felt a sense of relief instead. The angrier Xu Yan was, the more likely she was to swing the knife sooner.

The president clapped her hands and immediately decided. “I’ll give you five minutes to go to the props room and get ready. If you think any props would be useful, feel free to use them. You can come out whenever you’re ready.”

As they watched the two of them walk into the props room, Jiang Nianyi plopped down next to Su Yu, lowering her voice. “Don’t you think the atmosphere between them is a little strange?”

Su Yu was confused. “Between whom?”

Jiang Nianyi slapped her forehead. How could she forget? When her friend was next to Shi Xueqian, her eyes only saw Shi Xueqian and no one else.

“I’m talking about Xu Yan and Senior Shi.”

Su Yu: “I have a suspicion too.”

Jiang Nianyi was surprised. “Oh? What do you suspect?”

Su Yu looked serious. “I suspect that Xu Yan likes Senior Shi and is using me to gather intelligence.”

Jiang Nianyi was speechless. “…”

“Well, I can guarantee that Xu Yan definitely doesn’t like Senior Shi.”

In her opinion, it was more likely that Xu Yan liked Su Yu, but she couldn’t be sure. Xu Yan gave her a very… fake feeling. The smile on her face seemed like a mask. It was unchanging and the same for everyone, except when she was with Su Yu and Shi Xueqian. There would be a slight difference. That difference was a difference, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Hearing this, Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said with certainty, “I feel relieved with you saying that. My third princess, besides her poor taste in men, is very accurate with everything else.”

Jiang Nianyi slapped Su Yu’s hand away. “Get lost. Anyway, pay more attention to the two of them.”

Just as she finished speaking, the club door was pushed open, and Lu Yuanyuan stood at the entrance, a little out of breath. “President, I’m late.”

Jiang Nianyi nudged Su Yu with her elbow with great interest. “This is your true rival.” She leaned in close to Su Yu’s ear. “I heard a piece of news. A friend of mine secretly told me. It might not be true.”

Su Yu raised her eyebrows slightly. Her intuition told her it was definitely not good news.

“The night of the club’s recruitment fair, Senior Shi went to dinner with Lu Yuanyuan, right?” She paused. “My friend said that it seems, just seems, that it was very dark, and their car was parked under a streetlight that wasn’t on. The lights inside the car weren’t on either, so they couldn’t see very clearly…”

“Get to the point.” Su Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. Seeing Jiang Nianyi’s hesitation, she probably guessed what it was.

“It seemed like Lu Yuanyuan kissed Senior Shi in the car.”

…

As soon as Shi Xueqian entered the props room, Xu Yan grabbed her by the hair and pushed her against the wall.

Her scalp was pulled fiercely. The sharp pain spread through her limbs and bones. The dense pain was automatically converted into a signal of excitement by her brain. The pain became pleasure.

Her cheek pressed against the wall. It was a little cold. Xu Yan’s voice came from behind her. “You’re getting bold, Sister. You’re even trying to steal things from me now.”